


things that go unsaid

by valety



Series: original character, do not steal [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Humour and Angst, Other, POV Second Person, Teasing/Bickering, chara "what the fuck is a feeling" charason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 15:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5338940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valety/pseuds/valety
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chara convinces Asriel to let them help write the next installment of <em>The Adventures of the God of Hyperdeath.</em> Things escalate from there.</p><p>A companion to "PRIVATE!!! DO NOT READ"</p>
            </blockquote>





	things that go unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> this is not even remotely what I'd originally intended to write. it was supposed to be a goofy sequel to [this](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5306303) but then things got all out of hand and I had a Feel. I'm sorry

[text from: Chara]

  
where are you  


LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!  


where are you  


STOP IT!!!!!!  


where are you  


where are you  


where are you  


I'm in the kitchen okay!!!  


are you under the sink  


are you magically holding the door shut  


maybe!!!  


are you ever going to come out  


NO!!!!!!  


you baby  


did you even read my notes? I said that I LIKED it  


THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE  


I don't see what the big deal is  


WHY DID YOU READ IT?????  


IT CLEARLY SAID "PRIVATE" ON THE FRONT!!!!  


I thought it was a metaphor  


WHAT????  


if you don't come out right now I'm posting that story on the undernet  


HA, good luck finding it in my new hiding place!!!  


do you honestly think I can't  


ok, I'm coming out

* * *

It takes a lot of coaxing and blackmail, but eventually Asriel agrees to let you become co-author. He's sniffling when he agrees, but if you're being completely one-hundred-percent honest with yourself, it's actually a little bit cute, so you don't feel particularly bad about having played dirty to get to this point. 

You begin your collaboration at the dining table, when Toriel and Asgore are out shopping and you have the house all to yourselves. His notebook sits between the two of you, the words _**PRIVATE!!! DO NOT READ**_ still etched firmly into the cover. It's with the greatest possible reluctance that he finally offers you a pen. "This is a _secret,_ okay?" he says, voice quavering. "You can't tell mom or dad or anybody else." 

It's the fifteenth time he's made you promise this. "Relax," you say, clicking your pen in anticipation. "I know what 'secret' means." 

Asriel mumbles something about how you obviously don't, and you roll your eyes, because you _do_ know what 'secret' means, you just don't particularly care. Besides, Asriel shouldn't _have_ any secrets from you.

"Can we start?" you ask. _Click, click, click_ goes the pen. 

"Well," Asriel says. He looks nervous. You hear a soft thumping noise and realize that he's probably swinging his legs, bouncing his ankles off the chair. He refuses to look at you. "I don't usually...just _start,_ you know. I usually, um, try to come up with an idea first, and plan the story out." 

"Okay, cool," you say. _Click, click, click, click._ "What ideas do you have? What kind of stuff does the God of Hyperdeath usually do?" 

Asriel cringes at the name. Your smile widens; you make a mental note to use it as often as possible. "Usually he just kind of...saves people?" he says, still not looking at you, instead staring at the surface of the table where he's drumming his fingers. "Sometimes there are bad guys, but he's really powerful, so he can always beat them. And then everybody's happy, because he protected them." 

You notice that he's being especially careful to avoid directly referencing the story you'd found. Maybe he's hoping that you've already forgotten about it, even though you're literally only here right now because of it. You'll humour him for now, you guess; no point in making him call this off before you've even begun. 

"That sounds amazing. The God of Hyperdeath is so cool," you say, and Asriel's face does the most hilarious thing, contorting as he tries to both smile bashfully and wince in embarrassment. It's great. Asriel is great. 

"Do you really think so?" he asks. 

"Heck yeah," you say, because Asriel is innocent and you've been trying not to corrupt him with your foul language. "But I think we could make him even cooler," you add, because Asriel is _too_ innocent and you need to make him edgier. 

He seems intrigued, and he scoots his chair closer to yours. His arm brushes against yours when he does. "How can we make him cooler?" he asks. 

You open the notebook to a blank page. 

"It's boring to have him be a hero everybody likes," you explain, setting pen to paper. You begin to draw, trying to remember what the God of Hyperdeath looks like. He looks like Asriel, of course, only older and and therefore more badass. Just a little more, and - there. You've drawn the God of Hyperdeath, but you've made a few improvements. Wings, for one; long, jaggedy space ones, because feather wings are lame, plus some awesome tattoos and black, creepy-looking eyes. Excellent. 

You show Asriel the drawing. "Whoa," he breathes, eyes widening. "That _does_ look cool." 

"He should be a hero who fights for justice, but in a gritty way," you explain, tapping your pen against the page. "He doesn't feel bad about hyperkilling people because he knows that it's necessary sometimes. People don't always like him, but that doesn't matter. He's doing what needs to be done, and that's more important." 

Asriel nods thoughtfully. 

"Also, he should be part robot," you add, taking back the notebook in order to draw in a gun for an arm. 

"You're really good at this kind of stuff," Asriel says. He sounds awed. 

"Of course I am," you reply, because pinching him the way your brain is suddenly demanding that you do would be mean. 

You pass the notebook back to him and he examines your updated drawing. "Do I have to start over, then?" he asks, looking worried. "I've, um...already written so much about him being nice. Is that no good anymore?" 

"No, you can keep that," you reassure him, because if you tell him 'yes' he'll just start crying. You hate it when he cries. You like it when he gets all flustered, but when he actually cries it just makes your stomach hurt. Besides, it's not like what he's written so far is all that bad. "Just make him start being mean." 

Asriel nods, turning to a new blank page and beginning to write. 

_Once upon a time-_

"Stop." 

Asriel obeys, but looks bewildered. "What's wrong?" he asks. "I've barely written anything." 

"We're doing something _real_ now, a story for grown-ups," you say, snatching the book up from Asriel's hands and crossing out the opening line. He whines in protest; you pointedly ignore him. "You can't start it like a fairytale. _Real_ stories just dive right in." 

You begin to write. 

It was the dead of night. Everyone in the city was dead. The God of Hyperdeath was the one who had killed them all.

"Why did he kill everyone?" Asriel asks. He's pressed against you now, leaning forward so that he can see what you've written. 

"We'll figure that out later," you say. "It was for a good reason, though, don't worry." 

"Oh, good." He sounds relieved. 

"I'm thinking the human died somehow," you add. It's actually not something you've thought about even slightly, but, well, it sounds pretty good to you now that you're saying it out loud. "The God of Hyperdeath isn't powerful enough to resurrect them, because he's a God of Hyper _death_ , not Hyper _life,_ so he has to kill a city to get enough power to bring them back," you continue. "Also, I'm getting hungry, go get us something to eat." 

Asriel seems dazed; it takes him a moment to react, but then he makes a little "oh!" of surprise and hops off his chair, trotting into the kitchen and returning a moment later with two slices of butterscotch pie. You're probably not supposed to be helping yourselves before dinnertime, but whatever, it's not like you were specifically told not to, and so you pick up your slice and take a bite. No time for forks. 

"Anyway, he has to kill the city to get more power," you say through a mouthful of pie. "And then the human comes back, only better than before. They're a demon now because they've died once, so they're much stronger and can fight better." 

"That sounds good, I guess," Asriel says - carefully, though, as though he's not quite sure of his own words. He's not looking at you again, instead focusing on his pie, cutting the tip off with his fork. It's almost dainty of him and for the second time that day you're struck with the urge to pinch him. Then, for some unfathomable reason that you yourself don't entirely understand _(it's because he's not looking at you)_ you say, "The God of Hyperdeath and the human should be more than friends." 

Asriel drops his fork. It lands on his plate with a _clack._

"W-what?" he squeaks. He's staring at you now with wide, wide eyes, and you grin, because that's perfect, that's exactly the kind of Asriel you like best. 

"They should be more than friends," you repeat. "Because we agreed that this should be a grown-up story now, and grown-up stories always have romance." 

"I, I don't see why..." 

But you're already writing. 

The God of Hyperdeath had no choice but to kill an entire city, because his one true love had tragically met their demise the night before when a meteor had crushed them to death. If he could get enough power to resurrect them then the two of them could be reunited and and he could finally ask them to marry him, the way he'd always wanted to.

You read what you've written out loud, and Asriel screeches _"No!"_ and practically throws himself across the table in an effort to get the notebook from you. You yank it away, shoving back your chair and standing up so that you can hold it just out of his reach. 

"This is good, right?" you ask. Asriel jumps for the book, but you're taller than he is and it's useless. You can't stop smiling, and then you add "I think I remember your story having something about the human and the God of Hyperdeath getting married in it, didn't it?" because now is almost definitely the perfect time to bring that up. 

"No, no, _no!_ " Asriel wails. He stops jumping, instead hunching forward and pulling his ears over the face as though trying to hide behind them. It's cute. It's really, really cute. "Give it back, Chara, give me back my - " 

"I don't see what the problem is," you interrupt, but you drop the book before he can start crying about it. He catches it, clutching it to his chest and glaring at you. Your smile grows even wider. Asriel trying to look intimidating is the funniest thing you've ever seen; his face is too soft and round to be scary. You want to squish his cheeks. 

"They're only imaginary. Wouldn't it be fun to write about something different? We can make them kiss," you say. 

"T-they can't _kiss,_ " Asriel says, and it might just be your imagination, but you think he's somehow blushing through his fur. "That's too...they're just...that part was an accident, that's why I crossed it out, I..." 

"Well, _I_ think it was a _great_ idea," you say, planting your hands on your hips. "They should definitely kiss. What's the human's name, by the way? Isn't it kind of weird for us to keep on calling them 'the human?'" because wow, you have definitely not pushed him far enough yet, apparently. 

"They're nobody!" Asriel screeches, his voice an even higher pitch than before. You wonder if he'll start bleating soon. "I mean, they don't _have_ a name, they're not..." 

He's rambling, and so you decide to finish your slice of pie. It's delicious, rich and sweet. By the time you're finished, he's still talking. You lick the crumbs from your fingers. 

"You said I could help you write this," you interrupt as he stammers on and on about dorky stuff like backstory and characterization. "For this part, I think we should make the God of Hyperdeath and the human fall in love. It'll be exciting. Only they won't be a human anymore, I guess. They'll be a Demon. That's good, though, cuz it makes them the same as the God of Hyperdeath." 

"You weren't _listening!"_ Asriel wails. He's clutching the notebook so tightly between his hands that it's beginning to crease. "I said I don't wanna do this anymore! This was supposed to be a private thing! You only found out because you were snooping, and now you...you can't..." 

You can tell from his tone of voice that he's getting dangerously close to bursting into tears, and so you sigh. You never really know what to do when Asriel cries, because so often he's crying for a reason you can't understand. You're the only person here right now, though, so that means it's your responsibility. 

You step forward and hug him. The hug is an awkward one, but it works. The moment your arms encircle him, his trembling ceases. 

"It's just for fun, Asriel," you explain as patiently as you can. You don't _feel_ particularly patient - you're antsy as hell, actually, because you want to write something _fun_ and he's making it so, so difficult - but you have to be gentle with Asriel. You have to be nice to him, because otherwise he'll get all messed up. 

"It was _private,"_ he blubbers into your sweater. "You weren't supposed to find out and now you're making fun of me." 

"I'm not making fun of you," you say, because you'd _liked_ what he'd written. You'd even said as much in your note. Why didn't he get that? 

Asriel sniffs yet again. He pulls away from you, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. Your arms feel lonely now, but you let them fall to your sides instead of trying to keep him there. 

"Why do you want to do this so badly?" Asriel asks, fiddling with the metal coils of his notebook. You can tell that he's nervous, but not in a funny way - he's nervous in a way that makes your stomach hurt, like when he cries. "I know my stories aren't very...good. So why do you want to help?" 

He's scared of you, you think. But of what, exactly? Of what you're going to say? Of what you're going to _do?_ Why is he nervous? You need somebody to explain this to you, but Asriel will only get upset if you ask him why he wants to know, and you don't want that. You'll have to wing it, you guess. 

Why _do_ you want to write something with him? 

"Because," you say, and then you have to stop. Your tongue feels thick. Bits and pieces of words are brimming up from somewhere deep inside of you, threatening to spill over, and yet they refuse to fully form. You try again. "Because." 

Suddenly this isn't fun anymore. You've been teasing him, but you haven't actually been trying to upset him. It was just a game. But now you feel uneasy, wondering what kind of answer Asriel is expecting and how you let things get to this point. 

Your eyes fall to your hands. They've become fists, so tightly clenched that your knuckles have become white. 

You think of Asriel's fists and of the notebook they hold and of the drawings contained within. Drawings of Asriel - at least, who he _wants_ to be - and drawings of you, whether he admits it or not. But you're just a normal person in those drawings. You're a human, not powerful like he is. And those lines he'd tried to write about kissing, about his 'characters' liking each other - he'd crossed those out, and now insists they weren't real. 

Neither of those things feels particularly good. 

Before you really know what's happening, you're saying, "Because he's big." 

When you finally look back up, Asriel is staring at you as though you have spiders crawling out of your ears. 

"...what?" he asks, sounding bewildered. 

"The God of Hyperdeath," you repeat. You swallow. You swallow again. You're not good at speaking honestly, but you have to try, or else Asriel will get all wrong. That thought alone is more than enough to make you keep going. "He's big. And he's strong, and he's powerful, and he's _cool,_ and I think the human wants to be like that too." 

"That doesn't make any sense," Asriel says, voice faltering, but whatever, it doesn't _have_ to make sense to him, because it does to you. 

"That's why they die," you say, fists clenching even tighter. "They _wanted_ to die, but they don't, they get resurrected as something better, and then they get to be just as big and cool as the God of Hyperdeath. We need to write about that part. We need to write about them fighting to see who's best, and saving the world together, and having adventures, and then they need to do everything you crossed out in your story. It's only fair. It shouldn't even have been crossed out in the first place." 

_SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP_ your brain is screaming at you, and so you fall silent. Your fists are trembling. You have no idea where any of that came from. 

Asriel is quiet for a long, long time then, expression blank. Then, in what just may be the smallest voice you've ever heard from him, he asks, "What...do you mean, exactly?" 

He's definitely blushing now, although you have no idea how. It's probably some kind of weird magic thing. The worst part is, you can't even make fun of him because you're blushing too. 

You scowl and cross your arms, hugging yourself as tightly as you can as you look away. "Nothing," you say. "Forget it. It doesn't matter anymore. Let's do something else." 

"We can write that kind of stuff if you really want to," he says. 

"I don't 'really want' _anything,_ " you retort, because you're a jerk, you guess. A gross, awful jerk who likes to be mean and ruin people. Especially small, sweet, friendly people that you actually really, really like and really, really don't want to ruin. 

But then you look up and see that Asriel is smiling slightly, much to your surprse. You'd been expecting him to be on the verge of tears again. Instead, he just looks shy. It catches you far more off-guard than you'd ever be willing to admit. 

"Um," Asriel says, and he raises the notebook so that it's covering his mouth, partially hiding his face. You can still see the blooming colour on his cheeks and god _damn_ is that cute, so much so that it makes you want to punch a wall.

"What're _you_ so happy about?" you snap.

"Nothing," he quickly replies, moving the notebook ever so slightly higher over his face. "It's just..." 

"Just _what?_ " 

"It's just, you're right," he says from behind his book. "Having them be more than friends would be...fun. But the human is kind of shy sometimes, so the God of Hyperdeath can never tell what they really want. That's why I haven't written that part yet. It's tricky." 

"You're embarrassing," you say, for no reason other than it's something to say. Your face is burning, but it definitely has absolutely nothing to do with whatever the hell Asriel is talking about. 

He giggles and you can't stand it; in a sudden fit of anger, you march towards him, ripping the book from his hands. You want to throw it against the wall as hard as you possibly can and watch the pages burst from it like confetti, but he doesn't look upset, doesn't even flinch; instead he's grinning at you like he's waiting for you to realize something, as though you have spinach in your teeth or a _kick me_ sign on your back and just haven't noticed it yet. 

"What would the human say?" he asks, smiling as you glare at him. "If the God of Hyperdeath wanted to k-kiss them." 

He stutters slightly, but he still says it with far more confidence than you ever would've expected from him and _you can't stand it,_ you are _dying_ right now, he is _killing you._

"They wouldn't say anything because they're not real, dummy," you shoot back, struggling to keep your voice as steady as you can. And then, because you're an idiot, a colossal moron, you add, "But they probably wouldn't mind all that much."

He nods, looking thoughtful. Then, a pair of soft hands cup your face, paralysing you, and while you're frozen, Asriel stands on his tiptoes and presses a quick kiss to your nose, of all places. 

Despite your hatred of the word, it's an action you would definitely have to label a 'smooch'. 

When he pulls away a moment later, he's wearing an expression of insufferable smugness. You absolutely want to destroy him. But you can't. Because it's Asriel. And Asriel just kissed you. On the nose, sure, but that still counts. That's still a kiss, right? 

Your brain currently feels as though it's channelling pure static. You can think of nothing to say. You can only blink at him. 

Asriel lets go of your face. "I'm...sorry," he says. The full impact of what he's just done appears to be gradually sinking in, an expression of utmost horror washing over him. "Oh, gosh, Chara, I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have done that, I..." 

You grab his wrist. He instantly goes still. 

"The human would think that was...okay," you say, voice a little gruffer than you'd like. "If the God of Hyperdeath wanted to do that in one of your stories, it would be. All right." God, how embarrassing. You're absolute shit at roleplaying, but apparently this is the kind of conversation where you're not allowed to actually say what you're feeling. You suppose that's why roleplaying comes in handy sometimes. 

Asriel gapes at you, then begins to nod. "We could try writing something like that sometime," he offers, sounding hopeful. Definitely a vast improvement over how scared he'd been before. "If you still wanted to be a co-writer." 

_Yes, yes, yes,_ is what you think, but out loud you say "I guess that could be fun." 

He gives you an affectionate nudge on the shoulder, then takes your plates from the table and carries them into the kitchen. Even his back looks happy, somehow. You think if he had a tail he'd be wagging it like a dog right now. 

You want to be more annoyed, or at least _look_ more annoyed, so that Asriel won't get too cocky over how easily he turned the tables on you. It's not fair; today was supposed to have been about you teasing him a little, and instead he wound up pulling one over on you. But you _can't_ be mad, no matter how hard you try, because you just keep thinking about his paws on your face and him on his tiptoes, gazing at you as though you've told him the greatest secret he's ever heard. 

Against your will, the corners of your mouth turn up into something goofy, leaving you feeling a little light-headed. You force them back down - you have to maintain at least _some_ semblance of control - and follow him into the kitchen. 

* * *

[text to: Asriel]

the moral of the story is:  


never keep secrets from me  


things are always better when you just show me what you're doing right away

I don't think that's actually the moral...  


AND I'M STILL MAD ABOUT YOU PEEKING!!!! >:( 

really?

...I guess I can forgive you for now!!  


after all, I'd thought you were being mean, but you were just being an emotional cactus

what

you know, all prickly!!!  


"Asriel's so cool and his stories are so great I wish I could write like that and also hang out with him more :( "  


"grr I'm too embarrassed to tell him how great he is so I'll pretend like I don't even think that and be all weird about everything"  


"oh noooo Asriel is so smart he figured out what I'm doing how is he so amazing and cool :( :( :( "  


that's you, chara >:)  


that's not even accurate.

it is extremely accurate!!  


I would know because I was there!!!!  


no

yes!!

NO

YES!!!!!

ugh, whatever  


anyway I have an idea for a story  


it's about a dark crystal sending out mind control waves

a bad guy's using it to enslave an entire planet I bet!!  


the God of Hyperdeath and the Demon can destroy it and save them all!!!  


or they could steal it and use it themselves

ummm maybe!!! if that's what you want haha  


anyway, goodnight chara!!!

goodnight, mr. god of hyperdeath

DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!!!!!!!!

you're so cool, mr. god of hyperdeath

CHARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

=)


End file.
